Corn-planter.



nu. 676,9l7.

Patented June 25, I90I. J. D. SALTS.

CORN PLANTER. (Applicaeion med .my 2'8, 1900.)

2 Sheets-Sheet I.

(No Model.)

albume-1go Patelte lune 25, |90l. J. D. SALTS.

CORN PLANTER.

(Application filed July 2B, 1900.)

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 (N Model.)

. the iield as the planter advances and to have NTTTJ TnTns -FaTuNTTrice,

JAMES DAVID SALTS, OF BOIS DARO, MISSOURI.

CORN-PLANTER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 676,917, dated June 25,1901.

Application filed .Tuly 28, 1900.

To @ZZ when?. it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES DAVID SALTS, a citizen of the United States,residing at Bois DArc, in the county of Greene and State of Missouri,have invented a new and useful Corn-Planter,of which the following is aspecification My invention relates to corn-planters, and has foritsobjects to provide an ordinary cornplanter with mechanism forautomatically operating the dropping mechanism of the planter so as todeposit the hills in rows across the hills of the different rowsregister with each other, and thus form rows across the iield at rightangles to the rows formed by the progress of the planter. The mechanismis so constructed `that it can be thrown out of operation at any time,as in turning at the ends of the rows or for traveling upon roads.

As the usual wire check-row mechanism is dispensed with, I call myimprovement a wireless check-row attachment.

With these objects in view my invention consists in the improvedconstruction and novel arrangement of parts of a check-row attachmentfor corn-planters, as will be hereinafter more fully set forth.

In the accompanying drawings, in which the same reference-numeralsindicate corresponding parts in each of the views in which they occur,Figure 1 is a rear perspective View of a corn-planter provided with mycheck'row attachment. Fig. 2 is a side view of the same, some of theparts of the planter being omitted for the sake of clearness. Fig. 3 isan enlarged detail perspective view of the trip mechanism. Fig. etisalongitudinal sectional View through one of the supports forthe frame ofthe attachment. Fig. 5 is a similar view through the mechanism forsupporting the central part of the frame, and Figs. G, 7, 8, and 9 aredetail views.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, l indicates a corn-planter,which may be ot" any usual construction provided with furrow-openers anddropping mechanism. Secured to the rear portion ot' the frame of theplanter is a frame 2, preferably substantially U-shaped, at the rear endof which is secured a shaft 3. A spacing-wheel 4 is loosely mounted uponthe shaft in any suitable man- Serial No. 25,151. (No model.)

ner, as between collars 5, only one of which is shown, and has the outerends of its spokes G provided with blades or markers 7. The blades maybe of any suitable length and are arranged transversely of the line oftravel of the machine, so that as the wheel is moved forward the bladeswill readily enter the ground and cause the wheel to revolve.` Theblades may all be of the same size or one or more of them may be largerthan the others, and, if desired, they may be provided with a stop 8,formed by bending the inner end ot' the blade at right angles to theremaining portion.

Rigidly secured adjacent to the side of the wheel is the trippingmechanism, which may consist of a standard 9, which is rigidly securedto the shaft 3 and has its upper end provided with a pivot l0, uponwhich is mounted a crossarm or tripping-bar ll. One end of the bar 1l isarranged to stand in the path of the spokes of the wheel 4, so as to beengaged thereby as the Wheel is rotated. The opposite end of the bar orlever is connected With the dropping mechanism in any suitable mamner--as, for instance, by means of a Wire 12, which engages with anupright 13, which is connected with and operates the dropperplates inany usual manner, and is therefore not shown, as it forms no part of myinvention. The end of the lever which engages with the spokes of thewheel maybe enlarged or provided with a wearing-plate 14., and one ormore of the spokes may be provided with blocks or projections 15 inposition to engage with the lever 1l instead of having the lever engagewith the spokes direct.

The spacing-wheel may be constructed of any desired size and the spokesarranged at any desired distance apart, care being taken to not spacethem so far apart that the e11- gagement of their outer ends with theground will produce too great a vertical movement or to permit of thewheel stopping and sliding as it passes from one spoke to the other. Anysuitable brace 16 may be used fromone spoke to the other to give thewheel the necessary rigidity to permit of its passing over the field.Vhen the outer ends of the spokes are placed at a distance from eachother equal to the distance that the hills are to be deposited in therows, the tripping-lever is caused IOO to engage with every spoke, andthereby deposit the hills in their proper positions along the row; butif it be desired to adapt the wheel for drilling corn, aswell asdropping it in hills, the spokes ofthe wheel may be increased in numberand the lever be arranged to engage with each one, when the corn will bedrilled, or a portion of the spokes can be provided with projections atsuch distances apart as to correspond with the distance apart that it isdesired to drop the corn and arrange the lever to only engage with saidprojection, and thereby deposit the corn in hills.

If desired, the lever may be adjusted radially respectively to the wheelby forming the standard in two parts, the outer part of which, 17, maybe slotted longitudinally, asshown at 18, and adjustably secured inposition by means of a bolt 19, and instead of having the tripping-leverengage directly with the spokes or the projections thereon the wheel maybe provided with supplemental spokes 20, which may be secured directlyto the hub of the wheel 4 or project from a disk 2l, which is securedthereto. Instead of pivotally securing the lever above the shaft atright angles to the plane of the spacing-wheel the standard may beinverted, or the lever may be pivotally mounted upon the frame vof thewheel below the shaft in position to be moved in a plane parallel withthe plane of the wheel. In this construction the upper end can beprovided with any suitable means for engaging with the spokes of thewheel or the supplemental spokes, as above described.

The frame 2 is pivotally mounted upon the frame of the planter, sothatits rear end and the wheel may be moved vertically, so as to preventthe wheel from coming in contact with the ground, and thereby preventits rotation and the operaton of the tripping mechanism. One means foraccomplishing this is a substantially V-shaped bail 22,which ispivotally connected atits rear end with the frame 2, as by means ofhooks 23. The forward end of the bail is connected with a lever 2i bymeans of a link or rod 25. The lever is located adjacent to the driversseat 2G and is provided with the usual curved rack and detent forretaining it in any desired position. The ends ofthe forward cross-barof the frame are preferably loosely mounted in boxing 27, within whichare placed springs 28, the sides of the top yof 'the boxing beingflanged, as shown at 29, to retain the springs therein.

If desired,a suitable collar 30 may be placed upon the bar of the framewithin the boxing for engaging with the springs. The central portion ofthe front bar of the frame is provided with a collar 3l, which ispivotally secured at the rear end of a bar 32 by means of pivots 33. Theforward end of the bar 32 is secured to the front portion of themachine, as to the tongue, and is preferably bifurcated at its rear end,within which the collar 31 is mounted, with the pivots33 arrangedvertically. lVhen arranged in this manner, it is by permitting of asufcienthorizontal movement of the frame 2 to permit of the wheeladapting itself to the surface of the ground over which it is passingwithout varying or changing the position in which the hills of corn aredeposited and rendering the attachment peculiarly adapted for use uponall kinds of ground and under varying condi- At the same time thevertical movement of the frame and wheel is left perfectly free byreason of the pivotal engagement of the front bar of the frame with itssupports, the bar being cylindrical in cross-section or provided withcylindrical bearings where it engages with said supports. Thisconstruction permits of the wheel adapting itself vertically to theground and also permits of its being raised out of contact therewith bymeans of the lever 2a. To prevent the'vertical and forward motion of theframe and the tripping-lever when the frame is swung upon ils pivotsfrom interfering with the action of the dropping mechanism, I prefer toform the forward end of the dropping-wire 12 with an elongated loop 3l,which will permit of the wire or rod moving forward when the wheel isthrown out of operation without interfering with its engagement with theupright 13. But as soon as the spacing-wheel has been lowered to put themachine in operation the wire will be drawn back, so as to cause theforward portion of its loop to-engage with and operate the droppingmechanism, as before. A shoulder or stop 35 may be arranged upon the topof the standard 9 to engage with the tripping-lever and limit its returnmovement after it has been swung upon its pivot by the engagement withits outer end by one of the spokes of the spacingwheel, the returnmovement of the lever being preferably effected by means of thespring-actuated dropping mechanism.

As it is necessary to have the rows formed by the dropper equally spacedfrom Aeach other, a marker 36 is generally used, which is pivotallysecured to the frame at one end and has its outer end provided withsuitable means-as, for instance, a wheel or crosshead-arran ged to makea mark or line across the field, which is followed by the machine uponits return trip. This marker is generally swung upon its pivot by handat the ends of the rows, so as to project from one side or the other ofthe machine, according to which side of it it is desired to make themark.

To avoid the necessity of operating the marker by hand, I prefer tojournal a shaft or rod 37 longitudinally upon the machine, preferably inline with the pivotal point of the marker, with its forward end bentinto the form of a crank 3S, which engages with the marker at a suitabledistance from its pivotal point. The rear end of the rod is bent IOO IIO

atl right angles thereto in alinement with the crank at the oppositeend, as shown at 39, and is adapted to be connected with the seat in anysuitable manner and hold it in a vertical position. Vthen constructed inthis manner, it is evident that whenever it is desired to raise themarker from the ground, as in turning` at the end of a row, the driveronly needs to reach down and catch hold of the rear end of the rod andswing it up into engagement with the scat or other point of attachmentand secure it thereto. The rotation of the rod will cause the crank atthe forward end to swing the marker into a vertical position, where itis retained until after the rear end has been released from its point ofattachment and turned to one side or the other to throw the marker intoposition for the return trip.

After the machine has made one or more trips across the field it isnecessary that the spacing-wheel and planter be so arranged that on thereturn trip each hill of corn will be deposited in such position as toregister with the hills that have already been deposited. If thespacing-wheel is of such a size that the engagement of each spoke withthe ground drops a hill, then it is only necessary that any one of thespokes of the wheel be set or arranged to register with the last markformed by the spokes at. the ends of the preceding rows; but where thedropping mechanism is not arranged to be operated simul taneously withthe engagement ot the spokes with the ground, or where the droppingmechanism is arranged to be operated when only one or a portion of thespokes engage, with the ground, it is necessary that the marker be soadjusted that on the return trip the dropping mechanism will be operatedat the proper time. By providing the desired spokes with the stop orindicator the contact of such stop with the ground will make a differentimpression from the other spokes, and thus enable the attendant of themachine to determine the proper location of the spokes of the wheelrelatively to said mark for the return trip. The spokes may be paintedof different colors or pro-vided with characters to assist in the properarrangement of the wheel for the return trip.

As above described, it will be seen that my improved attachment can besecured to the ordinary corn-planter in such position, preferably to therear, that it will operate the mechanism at the desired times to producea perfect arrangement of the hills, so that the ground can be easilycultivated in both directions, or it may be easily adapted fordepositing it in drills, so that it can only be cultivated in onedirection. By permitting of the flexible movement of the Wheel-frame thewheel will readily adapt itself to the condition of the ground overwhich it is passing and will permit of the planter being moved forwardwith any desired amount of speed without interfering with the perfectoperation of my attachment. The wide point of contact with the groundsecured by making the width of the blades or length of the knives orfeet at the ends of the spokes, preferably from one to two feet, willassist in holding the wheel in a vertical position, and thereby cause itto run perfectly true and always operate the tripping-lever at theproper inst-ant.

By providing means convenient to the reach of the driver for throwingthe spacing-wheel into and out of engagement and also for operating themarker without having to get off the planter at the ends of the rows theamount of land that can be planted by the use of my improved attachmentis considerably increased over what can be done with the ordinary wirecheck-row attachment, which must ft be changed and adjusted relativelyto the machine at each row.

My attachment is simple, strong, and durable and can be manufacturedvery cheaply and applied to the ordinary dropper by any one conversantwith the use and operation of such machines without requiring theservices of a skilled or experienced person.

Having thus fully described my invention,

what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, isft l. Ina check -row attachment for cornplanters, the combination, with a frame,of two iianged boxings for securing the same to the rear of the planter,a spring in the boxing, a swiveled boxing for securing the frame inposition to permit of movement in a horizontal plane, a spacing-wheeljournaled in the rear end of the frame, a tripping-lever adjacentthereto, and means for connecting said lever with the dropping mechanismof the planter, substantially as described.

2. In a corn-planter, the combination, with the frame thereof, of aboxing secured to each side of said frame, a spring in each boxing, abar secured to the tongue of the machine, the rear end of which isbifurcated, a boxing pivotally secured within said bifurcation, a frameto the rear of the planter, the forward bar of which is mounted in saidboxings, a spacing-wheel journaled in the rear end of said frame, atripping-lever adjacent thereto, and means for connecting saidtripping-lever with the dropping mechanism of the planter, substantiallyas described.

3. In a check-row attachment for cornplanters, the combination with ahorizontallydisposed frame, of a vertically-positioned spacing-wheelmounted in said frame, the ends of the spokes of which are each providedwith means for engaging with the ground, and one or more of which isprovided with a stop, a standard raised vertically from said frame andprovided at its upper end with a pivot, a lever intermediately mountedupon said pivot and having one of its ends in position to be engaged bythe stop carried by the spoke of the spacing-wheel, said lever beinghorizontally disposed, and a connection between the opposite end of thelever and the IOO IIO

dropping mechanism of the planter, substantially as described.

4. In a check-row attachment for cornplanters, the combination'with aframe, of a vertically-disposed spacing-wheel mounted therein and havingspokes provided at their ends with means forengagingY with the groundand one or more of which is provided with stop, a tivo-part standardraised vertically from said frame, means for adjustably securing the twoparts of said standard together, a horizontally-disposed leverintermediately pivoted upon the upper end of said standard and havingone of its ends disposed in the path of the stop carried by the spoke ofthe spacing-Wheel, and a connection between the JAHES DAVID SALTS.

Witnesses:

J. 1I. ELsoN, VI. E. REDFEARN.

